Air Fryer Flapjacks

Chewy oat bars in 20 minutes. Why pressing the mixture down hard is the step that matters, and why they have to cool completely before you cut them.

Prep

10 min

Cook

20 min

Total

30 min

Serves

16

Ingredients

• 100g salted butter
• 75g golden syrup
• 50g dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 small egg
• 225g rolled oats

Method

1. Melt the butter, golden syrup and dark brown sugar together until smooth and glossy.
2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.
3. Stir the rolled oats through until every oat is coated and the mixture is thick and sticky.
4. Tip into a greased 20cm square tin and press down firmly all over with the back of a spoon, working out to the corners.
5. Air fry at 160°C (320°F) for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
6. Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into 16 squares. If they still feel soft, chill them first.

Notes

• Press it down hard. This is the step that decides whether you get flapjacks or a tin of loose toasted oats — the compacting is what makes the syrup bind them.
• Cool completely before cutting, exactly like brownies. Cut them warm and they fall apart.
• Rolled or porridge oats, not jumbo. Jumbo oats do not soak up the syrup mixture properly and the bars crumble.
• The egg is unconventional in a flapjack and the other sources leave it out. A Mummy Too add it to help them hold together — leave it out if you want a more traditional, crumblier bar.
• They look slightly soft and underdone in the middle when the timer goes. That is right; they firm up completely as they cool.
• Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Watch it

More Air Fryer Desserts

• Air Fryer Apple Crumble50 min · serves 4
• Air Fryer Banana Bread45 min · serves 8
• Air Fryer Bread and Butter Pudding60 min · serves 6
• Air Fryer Brownies31 min · serves 9
• Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies21 min · serves 18
• Air Fryer Chocolate Lava Cakes33 min · serves 4

Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.

Recipe source: Quantities and method from A Mummy Too (amummytoo.co.uk): 100g salted butter, 75g golden syrup, 50g dark brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 225g rolled oats and 1 small egg, pressed firmly into a greased 20cm tin and baked at 160°C (320°F) for 20 minutes until golden on top, then cooled completely before cutting into 16. Corroborated against Liana's Kitchen and Air Fryer UK, who also use 160°C (320°F) for around 20 minutes. The egg is A Mummy Too's own addition — unconventional for a flapjack — to help them hold together; the other sources omit it.